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The Nature of Fragile Things
April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.
Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.
Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.
The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.
From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.
Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.
Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.
The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.
From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.
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Community Reviews
This was a very good book. I love the idea of the story happening during the big San Francisco earthquake. I loved the Irish accent narration.
This book wasnât what I expected in the best of ways. Some of it was predictable, but there were several elements that I didnât see coming. I didnât realize there was a bit of mystery involved in the story, but that made the book all that more enjoyable.
When you are a male-order bride, how well do you know your future spouse? What makes a woman choose to answer such an ad? Especially when the ad reads he has a child of 5 years. What secrets does either of them hold from each other or from themselves?
The characters are so strong and you genuinely feel the emotions the author wants you to feel. The story itself is so rich that there were times I re-read it because I did now want to miss a thing or know how this little bit of information would serve in the bigger scheme of things as the story unfolds.
This story is about kinship, survival, and love.
The characters are so strong and you genuinely feel the emotions the author wants you to feel. The story itself is so rich that there were times I re-read it because I did now want to miss a thing or know how this little bit of information would serve in the bigger scheme of things as the story unfolds.
This story is about kinship, survival, and love.
Very well written. Enjoyed the character and plot development. The story was not light by any means but it was a quick read, easy to follow and not too heavy for the average book club audience. I would recommend this book for personal as well as book club readers.
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